


The Tiny Panther

by Ghost_fox_in_training



Category: Original Work
Genre: Comforting, Exploration, Goldfinch, My dad gave me this idea after we saw a stunning black cat in our back garden, Other, She thinks shes a panther, So smol, but shes just a little kitten, i guess, idk - Freeform, it looked quite panther-like, playful, she loves her human, this is pretty cute ngl, this was nice to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 01:36:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13514031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_fox_in_training/pseuds/Ghost_fox_in_training
Summary: A mighty beastie on her daily prowl.or a kitten think's shes bigger than she is and im not going to be the one to tell her x





	The Tiny Panther

The sun shone heavily on the trees as the mighty beast prowled curiously around her territory. It was the highest point of high summer, when all the creatures in the land were busy chattering and flying and feasting. The threat of winter was far off, no more important than the single cloud drifting slowly overhead. There was an endless supply of peace echoing off the branches of the trees and whispering through the leaves in the rare and gentle breeze. 

She was careful in her movements, placing one frightful paw in front of the other. Her midnight-coloured coat glistened as she padded through the patches of sweltering sunlight that penetrated the canopy. She was glad to feel a number of hairs staying put on the tree she pushed her body against. It was not often she envied the hairless monstrosities that gazed at her from their various perches, yet today she was considering doing more than just drink from the stream that bordered her home. 

Her ears kept watch for her eyes as she leant over the crevice to lap at the twinkling liquid running quietly through it. The rustling of rodents digging among the debris joined the sweet song of baby blackbirds who weren’t so small any more. Her great tail laid still on the vibrant green of the grassy bank, a dangerous tripwire that was unbelievably hard to miss. 

She lifted her head, beads of water dripped lazily from her whiskers as she basked in the warmth. The birds had not stopped their happy singing and her ears twitched to catch the tunes pouring from tiny lungs. Retreating from the glare by the stream, the gentle giant lowered herself into the alcove at the base of her tree. With wise old roots bracketing her, she curled her tail around herself and leant into the trunk; a queen resting in her throne. There was no telling how long she stayed there, golden eyes blinking slowly and lethal paws tucked beneath her as huge lungs filled and emptied rhythmically. A low rumble resonated through her to the pulse of the earth and the life upon it. 

The rumble disappeared suddenly as her eyes narrowed. Like a camera lens zooming in on a model, she became entranced by the twitching movements of a small goldfinch. Its tiny beak poked at the dirt, picking out fallen berries from the bush behind it. It was young, clumsy, and completely unaware of the ferocious beast only metres away. Said beast was quick to engage her hunting mode, uncurling her tail and crouching low as it twitched dangerously. She pressed her chest to the ground as she crept forward, agonisingly slow even for her, but the heat made her lazy. The goldfinch continued its oblivious hopping and pecking as she inched closer. 

And closer. 

And closer still. 

She felt her rear end sway as she built up her energy, pushing coils of it into her legs. Such a tiny prey could surely not escape the great cat’s wrath.   
With her arsenal of teeth and claws bared, she pounced.

For a moment she became a shallow arc of pure black as her legs propelled her through the air. She reached forward with her front paws, eyes focused only on the mass of feathers before her. She was barely a claws distance away from success. 

Then the goldfinch hopped neatly to the side. 

 

She crashed. Paws landing on empty grass. It turns out she was almost as young and clumsy as the chaffinch. Said goldfinch had finally registered her appearance and fluttered away in useless fear, unaware that it should have been frightened far earlier than that. 

Shaking out her ruffled fur with an indignant huff, the ineffective hunter sat neatly on the spot. Having erased all evidence of failure from her posture, she picked up her paw and began to wash the shame from her ears. 

Soon enough the shadowy feline had forgotten the baby bird and begun another lap of prowling around her territory, careful to refresh every scent marking along the way. The trees were still alive with movement as the sun began to set. Evening songbirds tweeted their warmups and daytime critters began their nightly groom.

As the sky burned and night started to fall, the mighty beast padded cautiously through the ferns of the forest. She blended into the backdrop seamlessly now, the trees blocking the remains of the sunlight from reaching the floor where she walked. She felt like a giant among those trees, where every other moving thing was smaller, more fragile than she was. She knew that once she passed the wooden wall, she would return to being the smallest, the most fragile. However, she longed for the warmth that didn’t hurt her eyes, the floors that didn’t tickle her paws, the prey she could catch and the sound of soft coos that didn’t come down from the trees. She longed for home. 

She propelled herself up the strange wooden wall, balancing carefully on the top. Wasting not a single moment she jumped onto the grass on the other side. The growly monster had eaten it the day before and so she did not stop to eat any herself. 

The door was open. As she pranced up the step she announced her return, reporting loudly that her trip had been successful. The loud padding of large feet started towards her. Her magnificent tail trembled with joy; her human was home. A giant hairless paw landed heavily on her head and travelled all the way to her uncontrollable tail. She told her human she loved them and they made a strange noise in return, she liked to think that was human for “I love you too”. 

She followed her human to a soft alcove and perched prettily on the armrest until the human stopped fidgeting. When they did she curled herself up like she had done at the base of the tree, and relaxed into the slow movement of a hairless paw on her head. She soon fell asleep, enveloped by that warmth that didn’t hurt her eyes. She dreamt of goldfinches and sunlight and the whisper of the rare and gentle breeze through the leave on the branches of the trees. She was a panther among songbirds and a kitten among men.

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoyed writing this :)
> 
> thank you for reading x


End file.
